If you're an indie retailer, you know the struggles we face - competition, costs, and playing field slanted against us. The goal of this blog is to slant the field a little bit back in our direction.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Changing a Customer's Mind

About 40% of the population are going to vote Democratic in the next election no matter what. Another 40% are going to vote Republican no matter what. Their minds cannot be changed. These people are easy to identify. They are the ones posting sound bites and article links all over Facebook.

The real political battle is only over the 20% who may change their minds. That's it. Twenty percent.

Aren't you glad you're in Retail?

The National Retail Federation did a survey that said 78% of satisfied customers would shop somewhere else they thought would be more fun(heard this in a presentation, but cannot find survey). Seventy-eight percent are willing to change their mind on where to shop! I think the number is much higher.

We all know that Transactional Customers will change their mind on where to shop. They'll shop wherever they can find the best deal. But what about the Relational Customer? What if you are first loser on a Relational Customer's list? How do you change their minds?

Make it Fun
Start by doing what the NRF survey told you to do. Make your store more fun! Sit around with your staff (and a six-pack of beer if you think that will help) and try to envision what "the most fun store" in your category would look like. Sport Clips is a hair salon for men that figured out how to make haircuts more fun. They have translated that fun into becoming one of the fastest growing franchises in North America. Even if you implement just one suggestion from your sit around, you'll probably be more fun than anyone in your market.

Care
We all know the saying, "The customer doesn't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Take that saying to heart and find new ways to care about your customer. Find out what concerns she has about shopping at your store, why she might stay away. Eliminate those concerns. Find out what you can do to make her feel more welcome, invited, and treasured. Do those things. Find out what she expects and then exceed that expectation at every turn.

Questions we ask before we trust your new ideaWho are you?Do I trust you?Am I afraid of it?Will this work for me?Who says it's important?What will my peers think?

Those are the questions a Relational Customer asks long before they will pay attention to your advertising, your sales pitch, or your staff blather on about facts and data. You need to answer those questions first.

Two Reminders
You know this... The definition of insanity is to do the same thing and expect different results. If you are not happy with your results, then you need to do something different.

Roy H. Williams taught me that people don't actually change their minds. They make new decisions based on new information. And since we all know that the heart wins out over the mind, give the heart of your customers new information so that they can make new decisions.

PS I was listening to an ad for a national retail chain that mentioned how they were focused on and committed to "customer service", yet they never once told me how. The rest of the ad focused solely on price. Is it any wonder I cannot for the life of me remember which chain? Don't tell me. Show me.

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Phil Wrzesinski

A Little About Me

I am an independent retailer. There. I said it. There is no twelve-step group for crazy people like us. We have to help each other. Fortunately, that's my favorite thing to do.

I have a simple mantra - Have fun helping others! That's why I'm here. I'm taking everything I'm learning about retail and sharing it with you.

I am a lifelong learner, always wanting to expand my horizons. I love deep conversations. I love people who challenge me with smart, well-organized thoughts and arguments and ideas. I love to look at how people act and react and interact with others.

If you also love to learn and grow and have some fun along the way, I'm pretty sure we'll get along well and enjoy this journey together.